• Question: how much does the sun effect the tempresure?

    Asked by bvbmonster to Gemma, James P on 25 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      Hi bvbmonster

      The sun plays a massive role in temperature. Without the sun the temperature of the Earth would be very close to -273.15°C, which is absolute zero. However there is another vital part for our temperature. The atmosphere and the natural greenhouse effect.

      If we had no atmosphere and no greenhouse effect, the average temperature of the Earth would be -15°C as while it would be nice and warm during the day, all the heat would escape at night. The natural greenhouse effect keeps us warm, like a blanket at about 14.1°C average temperature. Sadly, the blanket, without which there would be no life on Earth is being made thicker causing us to get warmer, which is what climate change is, as we add greenhouse gases and make the world warmer.

      So in summary, the sun gives us the heat we need, but we also need the atmosphere to keep us warm.

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